Morpeth resident among volunteers to be formally recognised by ambulance service

Among those who received a ‘Commitment to NEAS as a Volunteer award’ during the ceremony at the Royal Station Hotel in Newcastle was Morpeth resident Ian Short.

Ambulance car service (ACS) volunteer Ian started in 2020 volunteering four days a week. He was originally a user of the ACS service and because of this, he wanted to give something back when he retired.

The nomination information for Ian also included the following: ‘Ian’s wife works at the Wansbeck hospital and she got the information for him about the role, and so he applied.

‘He enjoys meeting and helping people, and this is obvious from the appreciations received from patients about him. He’s a very well-respected volunteer.’

Over the last 12 months, hundreds of NEAS volunteers have dedicated thousands of hours of their time to support the service.

This included community first responders, who have volunteered more than 41,000 hours, and over 84,000 patients have been transported to non-urgent appointments by the ACS drivers.

Ian said: “It is a pleasure being a volunteer for NEAS and being able to give something back to the NHS when I retired.

“I used the service myself when I had a hip replacement a few years back and I knew it would be something I would enjoy doing.

“I love volunteering and I will continue to do this job for as long as I can.”

Find out more how you can volunteer with NEAS at www.neas.nhs.uk/first-aid-community/volunteers